The Unbloodied Blades
by HellkingUzumaki
Summary: The Hitokiri Battousai was a legend of the Bakumatsu. Everyone from elders to school-children knew of this demon in the shadows. But, the Battousai was not the only Hitokiri who once stalked the night. Others existed that made even the Battousai shiver in fear. And some never laid their weapons to rest when the killing stopped. Rated M for blood and gore in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Good day my friends and fellow Fanfiction enthusiasts!**

**Once more the voices have struck and I was forced to comply with their wishes. So they commanded, so I wrote.**

**I don't understand why there aren't as many of this particular crossover as I think there should be. Anyway this one will be primarily set in the RuroKen universe and storyline. However there will be a number of Naruto characters that pop up from time to time. Also I feel I should mention that this is based off the RuroKen manga and not the anime as I don't feel the anime did justice to the story.**

**Enough of my ramblings! Please enjoy the product of my Lemonade and Bagel induced hallucinations!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that makes money. That includes Naruto and Rurouni Kenshin, sadly.**

* * *

Over one hundred years ago in the city of Kyoto, with the coming of 'the black ships' from the west there arose a legendary warrior known as Hitokiri Battousai. Wielding his blood-stained blade like the god of death himself, he closed the bloody Bakumatsu and slashed open the new era of the Meiji. Then, he vanished. With the flow of the years both he and his blade passed into legend.

But, the Battousai was not the only Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu. Nor was he the only one that disappeared afterwards. He was simply the most infamous. Many other blades had populated the dark streets and alleyways of Japan during the Bakumatsu. Many of those blades were never put to rest.

Our story begins in the 11th year of the Meiji in the city of Tokyo…

* * *

Chapter 1: The rurouni appear!

"Hitokiri Battousai!" cried a voice in the inky darkness of the night.

A young man, who had previously been walking down the road and minding his own business, now turned to face the voice. He was a rather, odd looking person if truth be told. He was rather short as he stood at most five feet even. Despite his height he had long flowing red hair which was gathered into a ponytail that reached down to the middle of his back. He wore a loose purplish gi and equally loose white hakama leggings. His eyes were a strange amethyst color which seemed to shine with a light all their own. All of that aside, his truly distinguishing feature was a cross shaped scar that covered most of his left cheek.

His accuser was a young woman with long black hair bound up into a ponytail. She wore a spotless white gi and dark blue hakama leggings. Her unusually large blue eyes were currently narrowed in anger.

The young man though didn't see any of her looks though. He was far more focused on the wooden bokuto she was pointing towards him in a rather menacing fashion.

"I've finally caught up with you, you sick murderer!" she said in a controlled voice as she advanced towards the strange young man.

Said young man's eyes quickly widened to comically large proportions as he realized that she was accusing him of murder.

"For two months you have murdered at will and besmirched my styles good name! Now I will be the one to make you pay for your crimes and end your murderous ways!" she shouted at him angrily while preparing herself to attack.

The young man's jaw dropped open as he uttered a strange sound. "Oro?!"

"Don't pretend to be a fool!" she almost screamed as she charged bokuto ready to strike. "Who else but the Battousai would dare to defy the sword banning act by carrying a sword in public!?"

She struck at the odd man with a very basic swing but it was done with a surprising amount of speed and skill. Even more surprising was how her target avoided the attack.

Showing a surprising amount of agility for one of his stature he leapt straight over the bokuto. Unfortunately for him he didn't quite land gracefully on the ground as he had hoped. Instead he crashed into the fence behind him which collapsed under the sudden impact.

The young woman stared at the young man on the ground before and blinked a few times in astonishment. She slowly lowered her weapon back to her side as she really wasn't sure what to do anymore. "…This is the legendary Battousai?"

"Nope." He replied as he slowly and gingerly extricated himself from the wreckage. "This one is just a simple rurouni. This one just arrived in Tokyo this morning. So how can a murder already be my fault?"

His question caught her off guard and for a few moments she stood there without replying. When she finally did come up with a reply she blurted it out so fast that her words seemed to trip over themselves. "W-Well how do you explain that sword at your side?! No one except the police is allowed to carry a sword anymore!"

Rather than replying with words he mutely offered the hilt of his sword to her as an explanation. With a somewhat confused expression she grasped the proffered hilt and drew the weapon from its sheath in one smooth motion. The weapon that emerged though was totally unlike what she had been expecting.

The weapon she now held was the same shape, size, and weight as a normal katana, yet it was clearly not one. On the highly curved outside edge where the blade would normally be there was nothing. Instead the blade was on the inside edge.

She looked at it for a few seconds with an expression of wonder. "It's…a Sakabatou? I didn't know anyone would actually use one of these. I thought they were just for show."

The rurouni smiled innocently up at her. "How many people could one possibly kill with a sword such as that?"

"Not many." She admitted almost ruefully."Especially since it shows no signs of wear, no chips, no cracks, and no bloodstains. This sword hasn't been used once!" She looked down at him with an apologetic expression. "So then, you really are…"

He finished her thought with a smile. "Just a rurouni, yes."

"So why do you carry a sword around with you if you aren't going to use it?"

Before he could reply a piercing whistle cut through the still night air. Almost instantly the young lady spun around and ran off.

"The police whistle! Sorry rurouni but I have to go!" she called out as she threw the Sakabatou into the air behind her.

The rurouni fumbled with his sword for a few moments before deftly catching it and carefully returning it to its sheath. He looked in the direction the young woman had run with a thoughtful expression. Whatever his internal musings were they were quickly interrupted by someone roaring with laughter.

"Man I can't even leave you alone for ten minutes without you getting yourself into some kind of trouble! I would hate to see what would happen if I left for a whole day! It would be pretty funny though." Someone said brightly.

The rurouni sighed and turned his gaze up towards the roof of the nearest building with a weary expression upon his face. More specifically he was looking at the shadowy figure crouched upon said roof.

"As you well know this one is more than capable of taken care of myself thank you." The rurouni said in a serious tone.

"Yeah, I know. I just enjoying teasing you, you should try it sometime." The figure replied with a chuckle.

"This one believes that insulting myself would not be that entertaining."

"It would be for me!" the figures tone suddenly became serious as it stood. "So, do you think we should follow the girl?"

The rurouni nodded sharply. "Indeed we should. It would appear that there is something going on here we should look into."

"Aw man, there goes my relaxing vacation time." The figure grumbled.

* * *

Just a few blocks away a battle was in progress in the street. Well, really it wasn't so much of a battle as it was a one sided beat down. A small group of police men were doing all they could not to be eviscerated by their opponent.

Said opponent was a giant of a man, easily almost six and a half feet tall and built like a wrestler. He wore dark blue and black clothing including a hat with a small mask to hide his facial features. However his cruel black eyes and bushy eyebrows could be seen just above the mask.

"Weak! Weak, weak, weak!" chanted the giant as he effortlessly slashed down yet another of the officers he faced. "You are all far too weak to face me!"

"S-So strong…" mumbled the police sergeant. "…H-He must be the legendary Battousai!"

As the sergeant said this a figure went charging past him. It was the same young woman who had mistakenly attacked the rurouni earlier.

"This is it Battousai!" she cried striking the giant as she flew by.

As she landed and turned to attack again she hissed in pain as a small gash appeared on her upper right arm. She was then forced to leap backwards as the huge man struck at her with his sword. Her dodge though had backed her into a wall trapping her as he enemy raised his sword once more.

As the man's blade fell towards her like an inexorable rain she felt a pair of hands grab hold of her. Suddenly the giant was no longer in her sight as she heard the unmistakable ring of blades meeting. At the same time she realized that it was the rurouni who held her in his arms and had carried her from harm's way.

"You're quite the risk taker aren't you?" He asked with a soft smile.

Her reply was drowned out by a disturbingly cheery voice. "Man you're really strong! Tell me, have you ever considered switching professions and becoming a lumberjack? I bet you could do one tree per swing!"

The rurouni sighed wearily as he gently set the young lady on the ground. "He can never take anything seriously, can he?" he wondered out loud.

She looked around trying to figure out exactly who the rurouni was referring to. The answer was actually rather obvious.

Where she had been sitting just a minute ago stood another young man who was holding back the giants blade with what appeared to be a pair of shortened black bokuto. Like the rurouni this new guy was also a little unique when it came to the looks department.

The newcomer had spiky blonde hair and electric blue eyes, a combination normally seen only on foreigners. However his short stature and thin build made it quite clear that he was no foreigner. He wore a tight black martial arts gi that had had its sleeves ripped off at one point or another and was edged in a strange dusky orange color. Like the rurouni his most distinguishing feature was a scar. Three ragged scars ran parallel with each other from below his right eye up and into his hair. Based on their ragged appearance it was quite clear they had not been made by any blade.

With a snort halfway between amusement and indignation the giant disengaged the blonde before running off down the street and into the night. "I am Himura the Battousai, master of the Kamiya Kasshin style! People call me the Hitokiri Battousai!"

The young woman rose to continue her chase but the black clad newcomer suddenly appeared behind her and lightly tapped her on the neck causing her to slump to the ground unconscious. He quickly picked her up and handed her over to the police so they could get her home. He then slowly made his way back to his red-haired companion.

"Nice catch there shorty! I could have done better of course, but still." The blonde said teasingly.

The rurouni just stared at the blonde with a completely unamused expression hoping that his companion would take the hint and shut up.

If the blonde saw the look he completely ignored it and continued. "Also, I don't know about you, but I think there is something a little fishy going on around here. Battousai seems a lot… bigger now than he was last time I saw him. What do you think?"

The rurouni resisted the urge to face palm. Instead he simply sighed and shook his head wearily.

* * *

(A few days later)

The young lady was wandering through the weekly farmers market looking to buy the weeks food supplies when she heard a commotion erupt nearby.

Grabbing the sleeve of a passerby she inquired as to what was going on.

"Some wannabe samurai with red hair got caught violating the sword-banning act." she was told.

'_Red hair?'_ she thought as she began to push her way through the crowd. '_Could it be the rurouni?'_

Sure enough when she reached the edge of the crowd the perpetrator was indeed the rurouni. At the moment he was pinned to the ground underneath a pile of police officers.

"Oh, hello Kaoru-dono! Fancy meeting you here!" he said cheerfully.

Kaoru wasn't really sure how to reply. The last time she had seen the rurouni was when he had come to her dojo to check on her injuries. When he had finished the conversation he knew quite a bit about this supposed 'Battousai' and her name. Then, as now, though, his blonde friend had not appeared.

After a brief conversation, and a well placed bribe from Kaoru's companion Kihei, the police wandered off. Once they were well and truly gone Kaoru confronted the rurouni.

"So if you really are a rurouni why are you still hanging around here in Tokyo? Do you have business to take care of or something?" she inquired.

"Well.. not exactly business...uh..." not really wanting to explain the real reason for his lingering, the rurouni switched topics. "So how is the hunt for the murderer going? Anything new?"

She didn't notice the sudden shift in their conversation. "Nothing solid so far, but I've got a pretty good suspect." She said with certainty. "Just before this 'Battousai' appeared some giant of a guy took over an old dojo called Kiheikan in the next town over. I figure that's our guy as there aren't that many people who are that big and are good with swords. Sadly I don't have any good proof just yet. But when I do..." she punched her palm to emphasize her point.

"Excuse me miss Kaoru, but I ought to head home and start getting dinner ready." Kihei said quietly.

"Oh, ok. I'll be back in a little while so don't worry." Kaoru replied.

With that Kihei bowed slightly, turned, and disappeared into the crowd.

"So who's the toady looking guy? He seems suspicious."said a bright voice right behind Kaoru.

She yelped in fright and spun around to see blondie standing next to the rurouni like he had been there the whole time. she was so startled by his sudden appearance that it took her a few moments to figure out who he was talking about.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" she said with a scowl.

"Who was sneaking?" the blonde replied with a smirk.

Kaoru scowled as she answered his earlier question. "That was Kihei, he's sort of a live in apprentice. He doesn't actually practice kenjutsu but he stays with me and helps me keep the place." she explained quickly. "You see I found him collapsed on my porch one mornin-"

The blonde cut her off as he mimed picking his ear. "Yeah, yeah, that's nice and all, but who is he and why is he here?"

"I just told you." Kaoru replied angrily.

"No you gave me some sob story about a guy you are helping. I want to know who he is and why he collapsed on your porch instead of someone else's." Blondie said in a slightly dark tone.

Kaoru stubbornly refused to answer for a few moments but then relented. "I really don't know. I never thought it necessary to ask those kind of questions."

"Why not?"

"Well... everyone has some part of their lives they are trying to avoid. Isn't that why your friend is a rurouni?" she replied quietly.

The blonde seemed genuinely surprised by her reply as he just stared at her for a few moments. She got the feeling that somehow she had just passed some very important test.

"You know... she speaks truthfully. All people have a demon in their past that they are trying to avoid. The two of us are included in that." the rurouni commented with a smile.

The blonde just shook his head and gave a rueful chuckle. "You know I hate it when your right."

"Is that why you are always upset?" the rurouni replied playfully.

"Ouch, that one stung." He then turned back to Kaoru and bowed. "Well it has been nice talking to you Miss Kaoru and I am glad to see that you are fully recovered but we have to go. However we have a few errands that still need doing around here. We'll see you later. Come on shorty." With that said he grabbed the back of the rurouni's shirt and all but dragged him away.

Once they had been going for a few moments and Kaoru was completely out of sight the rurouni freed himself from his friends grasp and began to walk side by side with the blonde. It happened so fast and so smoothly that the blonde's step didn't falter at all.

After another moment blondie turned to his friend. "So... where exactly are we going?"

The rurouni sighed and quelled the urge to slap his companion. "You never pay attention to what anyone else is saying, do you?"

Blondie looked back at him with a bored expression. "Sorry, did you say something? I wasn't listening." he deadpanned.

"This one said that we are going to a ramen bar for an all you can eat meal."

The blonde looked at hime with puppy eyes. "Really?! You would do that for me?!"

"No, this one couldn't afford to feed you ramen even if he did have money."

"I really hate you sometimes."

The rurouni simply shrugged. "Now in all seriousness we are heading for the Kiheikan dojo in the town just down the road."

"The next town? That explains the lack of anything here."

"Indeed it does. More importantly it gives us a location to truly investigate, and an actual suspect to look in to."

"Yeah, it sure does." Blondie replied seriously before becoming bright once more. "I still think the Battousai looks a lot bigger than the last time I saw him"

The rurouni only groaned and bowed his head in embarrassment.

* * *

A few hours later two figures stood just outside the entrance to the building that had once been the Kiheikan kenjutsu dojo. It really wasn't that hard of a place to find as it lay on the main road. That said it had taken them almost four hours to find the place. Most of the delay was caused by the blonde's terrible sense of direction which had caused the two to become lost a good dozen or so times.

Now that they were finally here the blonde almost seemed to be vibrating in place due to excitement. "Soooo, do you want to get there door or can I?"

"This one shall get the door this time. Your way of entering buildings tends to cause irreparable property damage far to often."The rurouni replied softly.

"Hey, at least my way always works!" the blonde retorted. Despite his complaints hr stepped to the side and motioned towards the door.

The rurouni nodded his thanks, stepped up to the door and lightly knocked. Almost instantly the door whipped open to reveal one skinny and rather upset looking man.

"Would it be possible for this one to speak with the mas-" The rurouni began.

"Master Hiruma is out for the night! Besides he doesn't like talking to wimps like you anyway!" the man shouted.

"Ahhh! So his name is Master Hiruma!" the rurouni exclaimed with a cheerfully innocent expression. "This one thought his name was Murderer Battousai!"

The angry looking guy made a strange growling noise in the back of his throat before slamming his foot on the ground. A few seconds later a large group of rough looking thugs exited the building. As they emerged from the building cruel looking sneers appeared on their faces.

"Hey Nishiwaki, what's up? What do you need us to do?" asked one.

Nishiwaki grinned darkly as he stared at the rurouni. "Our little friend here just called our master a murderer. I think an insult like that deserves a little bit of payback, don't you think?"

Many of the thugs sneers became even more pronounced as several burst into laughter. "Against this runt you won't need all of us! He won't stand a chance! He's not even big enough to be called a runt!"

Nishiwaki chuckled darkly but replied. "I don't care what he is, I just don't want to ever see him again."

The thugs encircled the rurouni with obvious malice.

"You really should not be focusing on this one. There is no threat from me. You should be more worried about your backs as the dangerous one is behind you." The rurouni commented in a measured tone.

A pair of icy blue eyes flashed from the depths of the shadow of the dojo.

* * *

Less than a half an hour later the rurouni and his companion stood within the walls of the Kamiya-Kasshin dojo. Currently the blonde was using a rock as a platform in order to look into the dojo through one of the windows.

"Oh, cool! Dude we made it right on time! The party is just getting started!" the blonde informed the rurouni. A few moments later the blonde made a strange noise. "Well, it looks like our theory was correct. That toady looking guy is after the dojo 'Battousai' is just his accomplice."

"What about Kaoru-dono? Is she alright or is she injured?" the rurouni asked with a certain amount of trepidation.

"Um… well, until a second ago she was perfectly fine." The blonde answered.

"What happened?"

"She attacked the giant dude and got taken down hard. If she didn't have at least one cracked bone I'd be amazed."

"Then it seems our assistance is truly needed."

"Yup! Time for the heroes to arrive in spectacular fashion!" the blonde said cheerily.

With that the blonde picked up the barely conscious Nishiwaki and stood him in front of them. The giant man quickly noticed and recognized the figure in the doorway.

"Huh, Nishiwaki? What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay back at the hide out." The giant inquired.

Nishiwaki just stared forward with glassy eyes.

"What's wrong with you?!" the giant bellowed.

"Master… they're… they're…to…stroooong." replied the man as he finally slipped unconscious.

As the insensible man collapsed he revealed the two swordsmen hiding behind him.

"Seeing the two figures Kaoru weakly called out. "Rurouni? Blondie?"

The rurouni looked at her and smiled innocently. "This one begs your forgiveness for his tardiness Kaoru-dono."

"You two idiots again?" the giant snorted with derision. " Are you weaklings here to babble about 'swords that give life' like this brainless bitch?"

The rurouni scowled as the blonde answered. "Nah, that kind of thing isn't in our job description. Besides, no matter how you look at them swords are nothing more than weapons. Weapons exist only to kill others, that is why they exist. It doesn't matter how pretty your style is to look at, at the end of the day it is still a way to kill others."

The rurouni continued where his companion had left off as if they were telepathic. "Kaoru- dono speaks as one who has never had to wield her blade to kill another. This idea of 'swords that give life' is nothing more than a sweet and innocent lie." A smile suddenly appeared on his scarred visage. "However in the face of the awful truth of the world her lie sounds so much better."

"I hope that one day in the future her belief will become the truth. I pray for a time when swords become tools for defending that which you hold dear." The blonde finished.

The giant rolled his eyes and sneered. "Great, just another pair of idiots here to annoy me. Boys, kill these bleeding hearts!"

The thugs advanced with obvious grins as they advanced upon their victims.

"Hey, just thought I'd mention that I got the last bunch of low-lifes so this bunch is all yours." Blondie commented in a bored tone.

The rurouni sighed with obvious emotion. "More fighting seems pointless to me but it seems that there is no alternative." He placed one hand on the hilt of his sword. "If there are any among you who dislike visiting the doctor this one suggests you surrender now."

"There won't be any injured people for the doctor here! The thugs roared as they charged. "All there is gonna be is one dead body for the morgue!"

The blonde snorted as he took a step back. "It would have been wiser, and healthier, to have accepted his offer."

Suddenly the rurouni charged the approaching thugs like a bullet from a gun. As he neared the first group of lackeys his sword seemed to all but spring from its sheath to appear in his hand. The blade traced a silver ark through the air as the rurouni struck with unbelievable speed, when the blade paused three thugs collapsed to the ground. Again the silver ark appeared and four more joined their comrades on the floor.

"Four men felled by a single strike!?" Kihei exclaimed fearfully as the thugs continued to drop like flies before him. "What kind of dark sorcery is this!?"

"It's not sorcery, there's no magic at all." The blonde replied calmly and slowly from where he stood near the still open door."It's just speed, pure and simple. Speed of blade, speed of body, speed at reading his opponents moves. He takes down man after man with the least possible amount of movement."

After a few more moments passed the rurouni stood alone amongst a sea of downed enemies. His eyes were narrowed into a fear inducing glare as he settled his Sakabatou into the crook of his elbow and faced the others.

"This one feels he ought to mention something rather important." He said flatly while his eyes settled on the giant. "The Hitokiri Battousai does not make use of the Kamiya-Kasshin style. Rather he wields an ancient style from the sengoku era that sets one against many, the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. If not for the use of the Sakabatou the body count would increase ten-fold."

Kaoru gasped as the full implications of what she had heard became clear. "You're…You're the Hitokiri Battousai?"

"How come everyone is always so surprised when they find out? You'd think they would know their history a bit better than that." The blonde quietly commented.

The giant dropped Kaoru like a stone and advanced towards the legendary warrior with a strange expression. "So you are the man behind the legend? It never even occurred to me that I should fight you! Until now I was more interested in fighting that blonde friend of yours! But I now regret that! Who wants to fight some no-name weakling when the most famous of the Bakumatsu's shadow warriors is standing before me!?"

The assassin just regarded the smiling man with dead eyes. "Unlike some, this one does not enjoy indulging in violence. If this had ended sooner none of this would have happened, this would have been avoided."

"To spout that kind of foolish nonsense in front of me you must be very confident, or arrogant!" The man roared as he unsheathed his sword a held it above his head for a powerful downward slash. "This world doesn't have enough room for two Battousai's! I am the ONE!"

Suddenly in the blink of an eye the red-haired assassin vanished. The giant looked around himself wildly searching for his opponent.

"Hey genius, I'd look up if I were you." The blonde commented with an amused snort.

The giant did as was suggested and was horrified by what he saw. The Hitokiri had not dodged to the side to avoid the strike; he had leapt straight up into the air above his opponent for an attack of his own! As the legendary warrior fell back to earth the edge of his sword struck the center of the giant's forehead with enough force to drive said warrior into the floor.

As the red-head softly alighted back on eath he spoke to his downed enemy. "This one may have no special attachment to the name Battousai, but that does not mean he will allow you to use it either."

He walked straight forward with a determined expression before stopping before Kihei who was quivering with fear upon the ground. "Even if your hands are free of blood, your soul is dripping with it. As the one responsible for all of this it is you who should pay the greatest price." He flipped the blade over and glared at the quivering being before him. "Now, shall we test the sharpness of this blade the old fashioned way?"

Kihei almost instantly fainted in fright. The red-haired legend sighed as he resheathed his blade and tore apart the deed to the dojo.

"My apologies for all the trouble Kaoru-ddono." The warrior said with sad eyes.

"For some reason shorty doesn't like it when people find out who he was. He seems to feel it causes too many problems for too many people." The blonde explained as he crouched beside the downed giant.

"We apologize for interfering with your affairs. We'll leave be on our way before we cause any more problems." The assassin turned and headed for the door. As he passed his blonde friend the young man stood and walked just behind his red-haired friend.

"Wait as second!" Kaoru shouted causing the two to stop and turn around to face her."Look at what you did to my dojo! The very least you could do would be to help me clean this place up! I don't care who you are or who you were!"

"I feel I should point out that you didn't care who the toad guy was either. That didn't end so well did it?" The blonde said in a somewhat teasing tone.

"I'll be more careful next time."Kaoru growled.

"You're planning on there being a next time?" Blondie asked somewhat shocked.

Kaoru just growled in reply.

"Our being here will not help your dojo." The assassin said in a sad and weary voice. "You are now free to remove the taint those two cast upon this place. Being connected to any Battousai will make that nearly impossible."

"I'm not asking for the Battousai to stay! I'm asking the rurou-"Kaoru blushed and turned around with a huff. "If you really want to go, then go! Get out of here!"

She then spoke very quietly, almost as if the words she was saying scared her. "But… Before you go, tell me your name. Battousai can't be your real name, so what is?"

Behind her back the two swordsmen looked at each other. They could both see that the other was truly interested in the offer. As if they were telepaths they nodded at the same time.

Kaoru heard the rattle of the door closing and sighed heavily.

"Himura Kenshin."

She spun around to see the two wanderers looking at her with small smiles.

"Himura Kenshin is my name." The rurouni said with a widening smile. "My companion is Uzumaki Naruto."

"You're… You're staying?" Kaoru whispered with an amount of disbelief.

"Of course we're staying, we're rurouni." Naruto said in a joking manner. "Wandering the wilderness does not lend itself well to a life of comfort. I don't know about shorty here, but I would kill for a hot bath and a bed that isn't a tree branch."

"Please excuse our intrusion into your life for just a little while longer Kaoru-dono." Kenshin said happily.

* * *

And so our story begins, in Tokyo in the 11th year of the Meiji, with the arrival of Himura Kenshin and Uzumaki Naruto at the Kamiya Kasshin kenjutsu dojo.

* * *

**There you have it, The first chapter of this soon to be epic saga!**

**I only have two chapters currently ready to type so while they may be relatively soon in coming the rest will likely be slower.**

**As always I require 14 reviews to post the next chapter so, review, flame, give me something to reply to!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hellking Uzumaki writes again!**

**Here is the second part of my RuroKen Naruto crossover. I haven't received my normal 14 reviews but I just felt I had to post this anyway, it was to good to keep to myself.**

**Review Replies!**

**Wrath of The Heavens: I could but I doubt I could put my heart into it.**

**TegzTsinelas: Really? The best fighting? I thought it was kinda crappy myself.**

**SusanooUltimateDefense: Of course it's interesting otherwise I wouldn't have written it! Also you have a very long name.**

**Enough of that! Please enjoy the products of my lime juice and coconut induced Hallucinations!**

**Disclaimer: Still own bupkiss.**

* * *

Chapter 2: A piece of the past?

Kamiya Kaoru was a rather strange young lady, she had been since the day she was born. She was not the quiet, docile young woman that society seemed to expect her to be. Rather she was almost the exact opposite. A headstrong and sometimes brash young lady who always spoke her mind about whatever was being discussed and wasn't afraid to go against the common idea. All of this was of course overshadowed by the fact that she was a skilled swordswoman, something rather uncommon even in the 11th year of the Meiji. Yet as she walked through the bustling marketplace two days after Hiruma Gohei and Hiruma Kihei were arrested in connection with the 'Hitokiri Battousai' murders, she was utterly silent. She didn't even react when people shoved her around as the bustled about. The reason for this breach in her actions is quite simple. All of the young womans focus was fixated on the two people walking before her.

She glanced at the shorter of the two and thought about what she knew. _'Himura Kenshin, a rurrouni currently staying at my dojo who will likely remain for the foreseeable future as he did sort of help me save it. Today he is just a wandering swordsman with nowhere to go, but many years ago he was one of the greatest revolutionary warriors who ended the reign of the shogun and began the age of Meiji. He was the greatest of them all, the legendary Hitokiri, the incomparable Himura Battousai.'_

_ 'Or at least that's who he claims he was.'_ Kaoru finished as Kenshin ran headlong into a rather large person going the other way. A bright laugh echoed throughout the marketplace drawing Kaoru's gaze to the second person.

_'Aaand then there's this guy, Uzumaki Naruto. Kenshin's best and apparently only friend for some time, At least I assume their friends since they traveled together for such a long time. Normally he seems just like a happier and far more immature version of Kenshin. But then there are times when something annoys him or when he is deep in thought when he seems like a totally different person. Then again Kenshin is like that at times to. But if Kenshin was the Battousai, who was Naruto?'_

Unbeknowst to her her internal monologue had caused her to stop in the middle of the street. Of course this rather strange action was quickly noticed by her companions who quickly walked back to make sure she was alright. Naruto noticed her rather puzzled frown and inquired about it.

"So what's on your mind Kaoru-chan? Don't say it's nothing 'cause I can almost see the steam pouring out of your ears." Naruto teased.

"It's nothing." Kaoru quickly blurted out.

"Liar, liar, pant's on fire." Naruto sung out cheerfully.

Kaoru smacked him upside the head without a second thought. While the blonde was crouched on the ground nursing his aching head Kaoru switched topics.

She pointed to the Sakabatou hanging at kenshin's side. "Why are you still wearing your sword in public? You know you could get all of us arrested for having that thing, even if it is a Sakabatou!"

"Hey you shouldn't worry about it so much, it'll ruin your skin. Besides, it all worked out last time we ran into the police, didn't it?" Naruto commented cheerfully.

"Kihei bribed the officers! That does not count as working out all right!" Kaoru countered angrily.

"It may not have been a perfect end but it was a good one, yes?" Kenshin commented to try and calm Kaoru down. Her little tantrum was starting to draw attention.

"Fine, Just don't let yourself get caught this time or there will be trouble!" Kaoru growled.

"This one shall try not to be noticed." Kenshin replied with a small bow.

"Weren't we supposed to be out shopping or something? I forget." Naruto commented after a moment or two of silence.

"For once you remembered something." Kaoru said sarcastically. "Since you remembered, Naruto you go and get the salt, Miso and the Soy Sauce. Kenshin get some fresh fish and a block of Tofu."

"Hey, how come I have to get all the heavy stuff? Shouldn't I be rewarded for remembering? Make Kenshin get the heavy stuff!" Naruto whined.

"Perhaps she assumed you are stronger than this one. After all you are the one who constantly points out the height difference." Kenshin said with a wide smile.

"Me and my big mouth. Ya know, sometimes, I really hate myself." Naruto mumbled as he made his way towards a shop.

Kenshin just smiled and chuckled lightly under his breath as he began to make his way to the tofu vendor.

Kaoru had to stifle a giggle at the two swordsmen's antics. For such great warriors they could act like such children at times. As she watched Kenshin disappear into the market crowds she heard the rattle of an approaching carriage. Suddenly the rattle stopped right behind her. She turned around to see an older looking man with a large mustache and a warm smile looking at her from within a large and rather ornate carriage.

"Please excuse our rudeness young lady, but I'm afraid we must ask you for directions." His voice was rich yet somehow lacked the haughty tone the upper class usually adopted. " Is this the correct way to reach the police station?"

Kaoru responded hesitantly. "Um...yes. Just take a right at the end of the road. You can't miss it."

"Thank you for your assistance young lady. Have a good day." The man said as the carriage lurched back into motion.

"I wonder who he was? He looked familiar somehow, and he was so polite..." Kaoru thought out loud. "Ah, what am I talking about I have shopping to do!"

Just a few minutes later she stood outside a vegetable stall inspecting their goods. Slowly the background conversations around her began to increase in volume until she could barely concentrate. Spinning around she snagged the sleeve of a passerby.

"What's all the ruckus about? Has something happened?" she inquired.

"The police have been chasing some fool violating the sword banning act all morning and they finally got him cornered."

Almost immediately Kaoru dropped her purchase and began to make her way through the press of people. As she did a single thought kept repeating itself over and over. _'It can't be him again! Can it?'_

Sadly, it was.

On the far side of the market area Kenshin was standing against a wall with a ring of police officers pointing their staff's at his chest. They were panting heavily while he seemed entirely composed. If anything he looked a bit embarrassed.

One officer called out to the redhead between breaths. "You gave us-(huff)- a good chase runt! But now-(huff)- we've got you-(huff)- surrounded and cornered! Surrender!"

"Hmmm, such persistent keepers of the peace!" Kenshin commented with a thoughtful expression and a small chuckle. He made a shrugging motion with his shoulders. "Oh well! It would appear that this one has no choice but to surrender!"

Suddenly a commotion started near the back of the crowd of onlookers.

"Move!" called an almost obnoxiously loud voice, "Let the sword corps through or our swords will move you!"

The crowd seemed to split in half as police in darker uniforms shoved their way through. Whereas most officers carried hardwood staffs on patrol this group all had western sabers hanging at their sides. The officer who led them had his drawn and ready for use.

One of the officers who had cornered Kenshin turned and regarded this group with a certain amount of fear in both his gaze and voice. "L-Lieutenant Ujiki..."

"Good work cornering this fugitive 3rd lietenant. You and your men are now dismissed. We will be taking over from here." Ujiki commanded with the tone of one not to be ignored.

"But sir!" The younger officer protested. "The fugitive is completely surrounded already and he has yet to draw his blade! There's really no reason for the sword co-"

Ujiki cut the younger officer off by slamming the pommel of his sword into the unfortunate officers face. "A mere 3rd Lietenant like yourself dares to tell me, a veteran warrior of Satsuma, what to do!? When I tell you to move, you move. Those who do not obey must be punished."

Having finished his little tirade Ujiki turned his attention towards Kenshin. "What is this? All this effort to catch such a gentle looking man?" He snapped his sword up so that it was pointed directly into Kenshin's face. "I can tell you are a true swordsman from the way you hold yourself. Draw your sword and fight."

Kenshin just looked into the officers eyes for a moment before sighing and pushing the blade away. "Unlike some, this one does not carry a sword just because he can." As he spoke he noticed a blonde head appear amongst the crowd. At the same time he saw Kaoru running towards him with panic on her face.

Unfortunately Ujiki noticed Kaoru as well. "She must be with him."

Suddenly two of Ujiki's followers drew their swords and clashed them directly above Kaoru's head. When they did the ribbon holding up her hair was almost instantly totally shredded.

Ujiki leered at her while still facing Kenshin. "I would imagine it would be quite embarrassing for the lady if one of my men's swords slipped and cut her Kimono. Wouldn't it?" The lietenant said almost casually.

Hearing this obvious threat towards a woman's modesty the crowd became enraged. They began to boo and insult Ujiki and his men, calling them all sorts of vicious and sometimes rather inventive names.

Ujiki glanced at the crowd for a moment before addressing his men. "Men, I do believe these people are attempting to obstruct the execution of Justice. This of course is an affront that cannot be tolerated. draw your swords and discipline them all!"

The sword corps charged the crowd which quickly began to disperse as the civilians ran in fear. Then the charge was halted as a single blonde appeared before them with a pair of bokuto. At the same time they heard the distinctive rasp of a sword being drawn.

Ujiki turned to see Kenshin with his sword out and his eyes narrowed. "You will not harm a single one of these civilians."

Naruto finished his friends statement as cold fire seemed to dance in his eyes. "If you seek blood and death with the blade, come to me and experience it firsthand."

Ujiki licked his blade. "Men, deal with the foreign twerp, I will deal with the gentleman. Now that their swords are drawn whatever we do is clearly in self defense."

(Meanwhile, at the Police Station)

"So it was all just a hoax to get their hands on some property?" The mustachioed man from the carriage asked sadly.

"I'm afraid that you are correct in this Yamagata-san." The police chief replied.

Yamagata shook his head and let out a rueful sigh. "Had I thought about this harder I would have realized the truth of the matter. The real Battousai would never have done such things."

"But was he not famous for the many he killed?" The chief asked pointedly.

Yamagata nodded. "Indeed he was. However he only ever killed in defense of his allies. He would never have killed anyone without reason, that is not who he is." He reached out and grabbed his coat. "Is there anything else I should know?"

The chief hesitated for a moment before replying. "Well... when we interrogated the suspects they told us that 'The real one' took out them and all of their men. Though I doubt they were telling the truth."

Just then the chief's secretary burst into the room. "Chief! Chief! There's an incident in the marketplace! The sword corps is at it again!"

"Sword corps?" Yamagata hinted.

"A group we formed to try and deal with this Battousai problem. Sadly their leader is a veteran of Satsuma, he's just to much for me to handle." Chief explained.

"Of course, a veteran must have his way." Yamagata sighed as he placed his coat on his shoulders.

"So what trouble have Ujiki and his men caused this time?" The chief asked wearily.

The aide looked a little sheepish. "Well... That's just it sir, they are being beaten."

"What? Those men are the best swordsmen in the entire department! Who are they fighting?" The Chief shouted as he rose to his feet.

"As far as we can tell, they are only fighting two men." The aide replied somewhat nervously.

"How is that even possible? Who are these men?" The chief asked incredulously.

"We don't know. All we know is that they are both young and rather skinny. One has blonde hair and three scars on his right cheek while the other has red hair and a cross shaped scar on his left." The aide replied as he read off the report in front of him.

The chief turned to Yamagata meaning to ask to be excused only to find that his superior with a look of absolute shock.

"Yamagata- san, I beg your forgiveness but I must go and take care of this!" The chief announced.

Yamagata shook his head. "I will accompany you. I these men are who I think they are I must be there to speak with them. I know them both and I know their skills."

Internally he added _'I can only hope he won't kill me on sight.'_

Less than two minutes later Yamagata's carriage came to a screeching halt in the market place. Lying all over the ground in varying states of conscious were the members of the sword corps. As they climbed out of the vehicle they watched Naruto vanished for perhaps half a second before reappearing behind the last officer. An instant later said officer crumpled to his knees completely knocked out.

The blonde then pointed his shortened bokuto's towards Ujiki. "So much for the mighty sword corps! You're the only one left."

Kenshin relaxed for a moment as he spoke. "Swear that you will never again harm an innocent and that you will only wield your sword as ordered and you may arrest us for violating the law."

Naruto looked at Kenshin with panicked eyes. "What? Me to? But I don't even have a sword!"

"Ah, but you did harm a police officer!" Kenshin countered.

Naruto shrugged. "Fair enough I suppose."

Ujiki meanwhile, had been stewing in his own anger which presently exploded. "Silence!" He screamed as he gripped his sword with both hands and raised it above his head before charging towards Kenshin. "I am a warrior of Satsuma! I will never surrender or bow down to the likes of you!"

Kaoru gasped in Genuine concern as she realized exactly what stance Ujiki had taken before charging. "Kenshin, be careful! He's a master of the Jigen-ryu!"

Yamagata sighed sadly as he looked at the chief. "That man is a fool, a dead fool. The Jigen-ryu is a style of unmatched power when in the hands of a master. But when put against either one of those two, he might as wellhave given up already."

Just as the false Battousai had done just a few days earlier Ujiki struck with all his might only to find that his opponent had vanished.

"Above you." Naruto whispered to himself.

As Kenshin returned to earth he spun on one foot and and drove his sword into the corrupt officers back. Almost instantly the man blacked out from the pain. As the officer hit the ground the two swordsmen were all but mobbed by the crowd. As the people surrounded them they heard one voice rise above the rest.

"Himura, Uzumaki. At long last I have found you."

A few more moments passed before the police chief and his men were able to free Naruto and Kenshin from the mob. Once free they looked ant the one who addressed them with warm expressions.

"It would seem that you have grown a mustache Yamagata-san." Kenshin said with a small smile.

Naruto looked at the man for a moment. "Hey, you're right, he did grow a mustache! For a minute there I thought he just had a caterpillar on hi lip!"

Kaoru's mind was racing as she tried to understand what she was hearing and seeing. _'Yamagata!? As in __the__ Yamagata!? The commander of the patriot Kiheitai and now general of the army, Yamagata Aritomo!'_

"It has taken me ten long years of searching, but I've finally found you two." He extended a hand towards the two warriors. "I have a carriage waiting. Many of your old comrades await your return."

A nameless fear suddenly gripped Kaoru's heart.

Kenshin looked at Yamagata with shadowed and somewhat sad eyes. "This one has no interest in becoming a Hitokiri once more. This one will remain rurouni, now and forever."

Yamagata suddenly became more passionate. "If you fear what some may think of you for what you did during the war, I will-"

"Silence them with your power?" Naruto supplied with a frown. "If we start thinking like that we will become no better than the shogunate we fought to overthrow. Should that happen, all that we fought for, all of those who died, will have done so in vain."

"Himura, it's a new age! This is the Meiji, not the Bakumatsu! Swords are not the answer in this new era! What can you do with a sword?" Yamagata countered.

"With a sword This one can do as he has always done. This sword will protect all people that it can reach for as long as it can be held." Kenshin replied with another smile.

"My code is the same. My swords have always been, and will remain to be shields for those who are innocent." Naruto added.

Yamagata watched Kaoru and the two swordsmen slowly walk away down the street with a sad yet somehow hopeful expression. "Those two will never change." he snorted.

He then turned to the chief. "Chief..."

"Don't worry about it, I can see who was in the wrong here. I will leave them be. Besides I have always believed that a known blade was safer than a hidden one." He made one last glance at the shrinking figures before turning to his superior. "I do have a question though.'

"Oh, what is it?"

"It is clear to me from what I know of history that the red haired one you called Himura was the Battousai." The chief faltered for a moment. "Who was the blonde?"

Yamagata seemed to involuntarily shiver for a moment before meeting the chief's eyes. "Himura Kenshin was once the legendary Hitokiri Battousai who struck fear into the hearts of our enemies. Uzumaki Naruto though, he, he was the blood soaked phantom of the night. He was the demon who made the Bakumatsu so terrifying for all who lived through it."

* * *

**Who was Naruto during the Bakumatsu?  
**

**Why was he so feared?**

**Why am I completely bat shit psycho!?**

**All these quetsions and more may be answered in the next installment of...**

**The Unbloodied Blades!**


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